Agilent Technologies Inc. has announced it will expand its state-of-the-art production facility in Frederick, Colorado, that develops and manufactures “oligos,” which are short DNA and RNA molecules used to create nucleic acid-based therapeutics.

Oligos hold the potential to be used in developing treatments for cancer, COVID-19, cardiovascular disease, rare and infectious diseases, and other conditions.

The expansion will more than double the current capacity for manufacturing therapeutic oligos at the Frederick site.

Agilent expects the supplier market for therapeutic oligos to exceed $750 million in 2025 with projected double-digit annual growth over the next five years.

The addition of the higher-volume manufacturing line will help Agilent meet this growing demand from leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Customer shipments from the new line are expected to begin by the end of 2022.

Agilent is investing approximately $150 million to add 25,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity to the Frederick facility. The new capacity will also expand Agilent’s presence in Colorado, where the company has had an oligo manufacturing site in nearby Boulder since 2006.

The Frederick facility, 30 miles north of Denver, has been operating since 2019. Both sites are current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) facilities, as designated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.